I love Marissa and I will be first in line for whatever she does next. This book just missed the mark for me. Pru was so, terribly unlikeable and, in my opinion not worthy of the gift she was given. I feel like Ms. Meyer had two book ideas in one. I would read a fun YA rom com OR a fantasy novel about a girl with magic karma powers. This just never landed for me.

I just finished the book the other day! I love how it incorporates learning about sea life. The story was believable and the protagonist was like able and will be relatable to many students either from quints perspective or Prudence’s. I have already ordered four copies for my students for a book club! Thank you Net galley for the advanced read this one is a keeper! I give it 5 out of 5 stars.

Having read and loved Marissa Meyer's other books, I was excited to see her venture into a new genre: YA Romance. While I didn't love this book as much as her others, it was still an enjoyable read. Prudence is a perfectionist and control freak, so things don't bode well when she has to complete a project with Quinn. The grade doesn't turn out as expected and Prudence goes to blow some steam off with her friend. However while out, Prudence falls and hits her head. Soon she has the ability to give instant karma to any soul of her choosing.

Huge thank you to FierceReads, Feiwel and Friends, and MacMillan USA for providing me a copy of this book to read and review!

I enjoyed this book from start to finish. I thought it was light and refreshing with an interesting twist on contemporary (by adding that little bit of magic!!). I did find the MC to be a bit whiny and self centered, sometimes feeling a bit .... insufferable. Eek! But if I read this as a teenager I don't think that the MC would have been a problem for me. I really liked the environmental side of this book as well!!

Thank you for the chance to read this copy! I will definitely recommend!

I won this e-arc from from Fierce reads on Instagram through NetGalley. It was fun for me to see Marissa trying out a new genre and for the most part, she did it well! Of course she did sneak in a little bit of magic but I'll allow it. First off when reading it, I really enjoyed the atmosphere she gave the story, how the setting and town felt fully inhabited, lived in and loved. There were a lot of fun details like having all of the characters in the MC's family named after Beatles songs that brought me enjoyment. I've been reading a lot of books from debut authors lately and one of the things that struck me while reading Instant Karma was that I could feel Meyer's experience in her writing. She's gotten good at her craft and it shows even in a new genre. It was an interesting story in the way that it was a departure from standard contemporary with the whole karma twist. I felt for Pru and I liked her a lot but I don't know if I connected to the book as a whole as much as I wanted to. That's probably on me though because I didn't have any complaints specifically about the writing or the characters or the plot, I just wasn't as engaged as I wanted to be. Over all though it was a quick read and fun, but I didn't feel as deeply attached as I wanted to be.

Ask anyone and they will tell you that I absolutely adore Marissa Meyer. When I heard she was working on her first contemporary YA romance, I was intrigued to say the least!

Prudence is a perfectionist who has been paired with her complete opposite: popular and constantly late Quint. Over the semester, they have been tasked with a huge project that Prudence takes full and total control over. The book opens during the day of the presentation where Quint is, unsurprisingly, late.

When their score is returned to them, not only did they collectively score a C, but her grade was slightly lower than Quint's. The outrage! When her teacher refuses to allow her to redo the project, by herself thank you very much, Prudence decides to take it upon herself to attempt to redo it anyways. This leads her to a sea animal rescue center she has never heard of. The same sea animal rescue center Quint mentioned in their project and that his mother owns and operates. Together, they work to getting more attention from tourists and locals alike for fundraising and awareness.

One aspect of the book is karma - you get what you deserve. Early on in the book, Prudence falls and hits her head. When she awakens, she is able to dispel instant karma to anyone who deserves it. Talk bad about her twin brother? Lose a diamond earring. Help clean up the beach? Find something of value.

The character of Prudence is not likable. At all. She is totally judgmental, refuses to give ANYONE a chance or listen to their side, and believes that only her way is the correct way. While I understand that her character is supposed to be set up like this so that she shows growth, some of the realizations she comes to is frustrating. She's a straight A student, how is she unaware of some of the basics from her biology - it should have been an environmental science class, but let's not go there - class? It's amazing that she has any friends at all with how little room she gives people to live. Also, it was interesting to watch how much time and energy she put into trying to help save the wildlife sanctuary and not her own parents struggling business. And she refuses to acknowledge any recent pop culture.

The justice through karma felt forced at times, as though Meyer suddenly remembered that part of the plot and sprinkled some instances in. It did drive a couple of plot points - the sanctuary being a little short handed and the overall conflict is solved with its help - but other than that, it was forgotten with the focus being on Prudence and Quint's relationship and their drive to save the sanctuary.

Her brother, Jude,

This is my least favorite Marissa Meyer novel. It has some good points and could teach a lot about wildlife and the importance of taking care of the environment, the romance was cute and pretty G to PG, and it conveyed the message that you don't know what is going on in someone's life so you shouldn't be too quick to judge.

Author Marissa Meyer is better known for her fantasy and sci-fi fiction, with titles such as the Renegades trilogy and Alice in Wonderland prequel Heartless under her belt. Instant Karma is her first contemporary YA rom-com and, thankfully, it’s as good as you hoped it would be.

Possibly even better in fact.

Look, in a year like 2020 you have to take your comfort food – or reads, in this instance – where you can find it. And this book is everything you probably need as the days get shorter and the nights get colder and it feels like we’re staring down the barrel of a scary pandemic winter. It’s got an enjoyably sweet premise, a charming central frenemies to something more romance, and a heroine who actually learns and grows over the course of the story. (But not in an annoying or preachy way.)

I had a lot of fun reading Instant Karma! It was actually quite a surprise to me how much I liked it. I really liked the character interactions, especially between Prudence and Quint. I really liked the whole family aspect that was included in the story as well. There was quite a bit of references to The Beatles, which was great. I love The Beatles, so that was fun. I also really liked all the parts of the story that involved rescuing sea animals (like sea lions and otters) and caring for them to return them back to the ocean. I wasn’t really sure what Instant Karma was going to be like, because it’s so different than what Marissa Meyer has done before, but it actually ended up being so good and like I said earlier, quite a surprise to me. There was a little bit of Prudence’s personality that I didn’t like at the start of the story, but I think she grew as a character and definitely started to grow on me. Instant Karma was such a cute and fun read. I would definitely recommend giving it a chance.

I really enjoyed reading this book. Meyer has a very unique voice and I honestly felt like I was listening to a friend tell this story.

Despite being a huge Marissa Meyer fan and despite that all her other books have been amazing. I didnt love this one. I found it to be a slower read and not on par with her previous writing. While I didnt enjoy the slowness and simplicity I do think others will.

I was initially very excited for this book but I was ignorant at the time and the problematic usage of Karma in this book just wasnt for me. And that the phrase applies to a white girl. Just not for me.

Instant Karma by Marissa Meyer is a deep dive into high school science projects, marine life, and rehabilitation centers, including the small beach town tourist vibe of California as a backdrop. Oh, and did I mention karaoke?! As someone who lives in a desert and who has absolutely zero understanding of the ocean, I was so fascinated by the premise and also captivated by the selfless, hard work that volunteers and paid workers alike complete for the marine life at real-world rehabilitation centers like the fictional Fortuna Beach Sea Animal Rescue Center portrayed in Instant Karma. Non-profit organizations big and small complete such vital work for their local communities and the inhabitants (human and non-human). Marissa Meyer really outdid herself by showing the important role of community service in this standalone novel, featuring main characters, Prudence “Pru” Daniels and Quint Erickson as sophomore student lab partners in a high school marine biology class. Pru and Quint are not friends and they do not understand one another, or at least Pru does not give Quint a chance to explain his backstory, and so, a lot of misunderstandings and miscommunication over the course of one school year leads Pru to receive her first “C” grade in a class, and drama ensues. With a rom-com hit-in-the-head moment, Pru soon finds herself with mysterious karmic powers to right the wrongs of inconsiderate people and volunteering at a rescue center for marine life, determined to improve her grade for marine biology, and along the way, finding a new side to herself and a new side to Quint Erickson.

Pru is a character who has a chip on her shoulder for some unknown reason, and who really has not ever had a defining moment in her life that turned her world upside down; yet, for no real reason, after she hits her head, she turns into a vindictive creature who gains pleasure from getting back at others through “instant karma.” All in all, it takes Quint Erickson to help Pru become a better person who is less self-centered and who begins to think about others before herself, particularly her family and friends. Pru has a thoughtful twin brother named Jude, a selfless best-friend named Araceli “Ari,” two loving parents who own the local “dingy” record store, which is struggling financially, and three younger sisters. Through humanitarianism, Pru leaves her childish self behind and discovers that giving back to your local community is rewarding in so many ways.

A warm-hearted and much-appreciated thank you to Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Feiwel & Friends, and NetGalley for providing an advance copy! Please make sure to pick up a copy of Instant Karma at your local book depository.

Instant Karma was such a delightful story! I’ve read the Lunar Chronicle series by Marissa Meyer and loved her writing style so I couldn’t wait for the chance to read something new from her. This book did not disappoint. Her characters were well developed. The storyline moved along at a good pace. You were rooting for Prudence and Quint. This would make a cute, feel good movie. The story may not be the most original I’ve ever read but it was enjoyable and definitely one I would recommend to others.

Thank you to Netgalley for the chance to read the book and offer my honest opinion.

Received an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

DNF @ 50%.

I wanted to love this realistic fiction enemies to the teen equivalent of lovers romance, but ultimately I was not the reader for it.

The pacing is much slower than the Cinder series and I felt the absence of a larger cast of characters. Prudence is hard to connect with - she gives off big Molly from Booksmart vibes - and the storyline around the karmic ability she gains after a nasty spill during karaoke felt a little uneven.

But I really liked the aquatic rehabilitation/ecotourism component and would whole heartedly recommend this to my former students who come back looking for YA titles.

When I pick up a Marissa story, I know I am in for a good time. The innocence of the idea to have magic to help those around you is precious. I read this in an afternoon!

I am a big fan of the author and I was very excited when I heard about this book. I struggled with the main character for a good portion of the book, however. I found her to be incredibly self-centered and a complete brat. And although I know she wasn't meant to be a "likeable" character, she was very much over-the-top annoying and I was surprised that her brother and that her very down-to-earth friend had any desire to spend time with her. These relationships did not make much sense to me.

However, I kept reading because of the marine wildlife aspect of the book, which I absolutely adored. Having some experience with this, it was obvious to me how much research went into this portion of the book. I absolutely loved it.

I also adored the love interest and found him to be a very likeable and sweet character, but again I struggled to see why he would want to spend time with the MC.

Eventually the MC started to make some changes and there was a very clear and positive character arc, though, so I'm glad I stuck with the book. I greatly enjoyed this book, but I do have to say my favorite part were the animals.

I enjoyed this book. I picked it up because it has Marissa Meyer’s name on the cover, which is pretty much a guarantee for a great read. This is lighter fare than many of her others (which is NOT a criticism). We can’t be weighed down by the heaviest stories ALL the time.

Actual Rating: 3.5

For Marissa Meyer’s first adventure into contemporary, this book was not bad. The concept was great and the ending was phenomenal! I just felt that the beginning was a bit dry.

At the beginning, the main character, Pru, is extremely annoying. Trust me, she’ll grate on your nerves with the way she refuses to listen to any opinion that isn’t hers. The beginning was also a bit slow. I don’t think that any contemporary novel needs to be 400 pages long. Because of this beginning, it took me a while to get to reading the rest of the book.

I will say that once you get to the second half, things get a lot better. There’s a significant change in the way Prudence treats others and some cute romance. There’s even a crazy plot twist at the end!

My favorite part of “Instant Karma” was how everything tied together - it was all connected! Watching the web become untangled at the end was so satisfying.

Although this was not nearly as good as the Lunar Chronicles, I still recommend “Instant Karma” and cannot wait for whatever Meyer writes next.

This was a very fun, super sweet YA romance with a little bit about karma but a lot more about marine animal rescue and conservation. Recommended for grades 8 & up.

YA contemporary romance is not my normal reading, but with Marissa being a favorite author of mine I had to give it a shot. I found it to be a wonderful story and a great first attempt at contemporary.